Oct 16, 2017 clay routledge, a psychology professor at north dakota state university, chronicles this change in thinking in his book, nostalgia. Exploring the lived experience of nostalgia as a resource. If nostalgia is to be used as a clinical intervention to boost wellbeing in dementia by reducing threat, then it is important to. It involves revisiting personally cherished memories that. By the 20 th century, nostalgia was regarded as a psychiatric disorder, with symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety and depression and was confined to a few groups e. Longing for ones home or past is natural, and people from all cultures experience it. Pdf buffering acculturative stress and facilitating. Studies have shown that nostalgia can construct a sense of life and social support that promotes more emotional and emotional satisfaction and enhances subjective wellbeing. Pdf nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and well. In those moments, the past seems rosy, and often as more positive than the present. Journal of personality and social psychology, 109, 10291044. What characterizes the mental state of feeling nostalgia.
Complementing this work, the current research assessed the possibility that nostalgia promotes psychological growththat is, the potential to cultivate inner potentialities, seek out optimal challenges, and integrate new experiences into the selfconcept. Early conceptualizations of nostalgia viewed the emotion primarily as a form of psychological dysfunction hofer, 16881934 and linked it to negative states such as. Chapter pdf available june 2009 with 511 reads how we measure reads. A psychological resource essays in social psychology kindle edition by clay routledge. In an experimental foray into the topic, we cheung et al. Pdf nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and. Once viewed as a disease, nostalgia is now considered to be an important psychological resource. These benefits are higher subjective vitality, lower stress, and regulation of meaning. Selfesteem affects peoples reaction to stressful events and in addition the way individuals cope with stress. The word nostalgia is learned formation of a greek compound, consisting of nostos, meaning homecoming, a homeric word, and algos, meaning pain or ache, and was coined by a 17thcentury medical student to describe the anxieties displayed by swiss. It has a close relationship with subjective wellbeing.
Nostalgia increased all three, but only positive selfregard mediated nostalgias effect on growth outcomes. Rosen, 1975, in recent years an empirical approach has begun to focus on nostal. The future of nostalgia 7 nostalgia increases optimism. By combing the past literature, this paper analyzes the influence of. Specifically, we emphasize the role of nostalgia as a coping strategy for alleviating acculturative stress and for. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for people with. Nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and wellbeing. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for a meaningful life. Exploring nostalgias influence on psychological growth. This metaanalysis will therefore also serve as a valuable reference point for the continued exploration of nostalgia as an intervention. Pdf nostalgia as a psychological resource for people. Request pdf nostalgia as a psychological resource for a meaningful life nostalgia is a mostly positive emotional experience that involves reminiscing about personally significant events andor. Nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and well.
Exploring the lived experience of nostalgia as a resource for. At the same time, stressful events negatively affect selfesteem, which is a psychological resource against. This theme of managing threats is common to zhous other research interests. In study 1, nostalgia increased the importance people assigned to relationship goals and how.
Drawing upon this recent work, we propose that nostalgia is an important resource for psychological health and wellbeing. This restorative function of nostalgia was particularly apparent among resilient persons. This is part one of a sample essay that focuses on the psychological aspect of nostalgia and how the emotion comes to have an effect on the individual the human psychology of nostalgia. Nostalgia, a psychopathological condition affecting individuals who are uprooted, whose social contacts are fragmented, who are isolated and who feel totally frustrated and alienated, was first described in the 17th century and was a problem of considerable interest to physicians in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prior research shows that the experience of nostalgiaa sentimental longing for the pastserves to buffer selfthreat. One promotes resilience and personal growth, while the other can lead to an obsessive quest to escape the present.
We examined nostalgia as an existential resource in followup research. Contrary to nostalgias historically negative reputation as a mental illness see mccann, 1941, routledge et al. Drawing upon this recent work, we propose that nostalgia is an important resource for psychological health and well. Ten university students aged between 24 40 years, 5. The psychological benefits and trappings of nostalgia. A psychological resource by clay routledge goodreads. Study 2 explored which specific psychological resource provided by nostalgia accounts for its positive effect on growth. Specifically, across 7 studies we found converging evidence that nostalgia mobilizes social goals. It involves revisiting personally cherished memories that involve close others. Further, nostalgia functions to buffer existential threats and mitigate the negative consequences of lack of meaning. This is part one of a sample essay that focuses on the psychological aspect of nostalgia and how the emotion comes to have an effect on the individual. Reminiscence interventions for people with dementia ignore the role of nostalgia, despite overwhelming evidence that nostalgia is a psychological resource in social psychology research involving nonclinical populations. Different published materials in a wide range of fields, from consumption research and. Buffering acculturative stress and facilitating cultural adaptation.
We begin by detailing the characteristics of the nostalgic experience and then discuss a wide range of studies demonstrating that psychological. He regularly publishes his work in the top psychology journals, recently coedited a book on the scientific study of meaning in life, and authored the book nostalgia. Nostalgia increased all three, but only positive selfregard mediated nostalgia s effect on growth outcomes. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for a meaningful. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for promoting relationship goals and overcoming relationship challenges. In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, nostalgia was viewed as a medical disease, complete with symptoms including weeping, irregular heartbeat and anorexia. Article information, pdf download for nostalgia as a psychological resource for people with. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading nostalgia. Nostalgia, a psychopathological condition affecting individuals who are uprooted, whose social contacts are fragmented, who are isolated and who feel totally frustrated and alienated, was first described in the 17th century and was a problem of considerable interest to physicians in the 18th and. We begin by detailing the characteristics of the nostalgic experience and then discuss a wide range of studies demonstrating that psychological threat triggers nostalgia, nostalgia enhances psychological health and wellbeing, and nostalgia promotes. Nostalgia is a psychological resource that protects and fosters mental health. In the present research, we tested a social motivational function of nostalgia.
The desire to escape into the imagined, idealized world of a prior era even one you werent alive for represents a different, independent type of nostalgia called historical nostalgia. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for people with dementia. Previous research has shown that nostalgia is a highly social emotion that provides a sense of social connectedness. Money is a psychological resource for us to buffer threats. View show abstract personal goals, life meaning, and virtue. Nostalgia, then, seems to be one way that people cope with various negative mental states, or psychological threats. Nostalgia from cowbells to the meaning of life the. Request pdf nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and wellbeing historically, nostalgia has been viewed as a disease of the brain or the mind. There appears to be a general consensus as to what incites feelings of nostalgia, most of which implicate some form of psychological threat routledge et al. The study of nostalgia has an exciting and promising future. To date, research has not examined the effects of nostalgia among people with dementia. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1096, 1029 1044. Nostalgia can have a positive influence on your outlook.
However, in recent years, nostalgia has received a conceptual rehabilitation due to a revival of scholarly interest accompanied by the use of contemporary empirical methods. Scrapbooking is an excellent way to help young women experience the mental health bene. If nostalgia is to be used as a clinical intervention to boost well being in dementia by reducing threat, then it is important to. If youre feeling lonely, if youre feeling like a failure, if you feel like you dont know if your life has any purpose or if what youre doing has any value, you can reach into this reservoir of nostalgic. Finally, studies 5 and 6 showed that nostalgia disrupts the link between meaning deficits and compromised psychological wellbeing. Nostalgia is a complex emotional state that the individual produces when he is missing the past. Collectively, these findings indicate that the provision of existential. Nostalgia as a psychological resource for promoting relationship aspirations and overcoming relationship challenges.
Although nostalgia has been a topic of literary interest since the epic tale of the odyssey and initial theoretical considerations of nostalgia treated it as a psychological malady if not dysfunction e. Nostalgia has a checkered history, but is now rehabilitated as an adaptive psychological resource. Discusses the popularity of 1960s products, music and films in the 1990s. Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.
Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including nostalgia. A psychological resource essays in social psychology at. The value of nostalgia in a land of upheaval nature. Study 4 illustrated that nostalgia, in turn, reduces defensiveness following a meaning threat.
Nostalgia, reminiscence, dementia, existential anxiety. Nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and wellbeing article in social and personality psychology compass 711. In the ensuing section, we offer and deve lop the central claim of this chapter. Pdf nostalgia as a psychological resource for people with. Finally, nostalgia confers psychological benefits to individuals with chronic or momentary meaning deficits. Prior literature suggested three candidate mediators. In the ensuing section, we offer and develop the central claim of this chapter. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. May 25, 2017 money is a psychological resource for us to buffer threats. When people get nostalgic, they are living in the past.
Most importantly, nostalgia may be uniquely positioned to offer integrative insights across such important areas of psychology as memory, emotion, the self and relationships. Nostalgia does not cause medical, psychiatric, or psychological. Collectively, these findings indicate that the provision of existential meaning is a pivotal function of nostalgia. Clay routledge, a psychology professor at north dakota state university, chronicles this change in thinking in his book, nostalgia. A psychological resource essays in social psychology. Dec 01, 2015 abeyta, andrew, routledge, clay and juhl, jacob 2015 looking back to move forward. Nostalgia as a resource for psychological health and wellabeing. Nostalgia is a topic that most lay people are familiar with, but, until recently, few social scientists understood.
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